Method of coating the cut edge of a fabric

ABSTRACT

The cut edge of a fabric is preheated to a temperature which will cause an increase in viscosity of a subsequently applied heat-solidifiable composition and reduce its migration into the fabric. The composition is applied to the preheated edge and further heated to solidification.

United States atem Inventors Joseph W. Dominick;

William P. Warthen, both of Spartanburg, S.C.

Mar. 18, 1968 Jan. 4, 1972 Deering Milliken Research Corporation Spartanburg, S.C.

Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee METHOD OF COATING THE CUT EDGE OF A FABRIC 10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 117/44, 117/47 1-1,117/47 A, 117/138.8 N lnt.Cl B44d 1/02, B44d l/09 Field of Search 117/44, 47 R, 47 H, 138.8 N

(56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,683,766 7/1954 Cunningham 1 17/47 2,926,100 2/1960 Weigle et al. 117/47 1,707,611 4/1929 Hamburger et a1. 1 17/44 1,793,630 2/1931 Miller 1 17/44 2,962,387 10/1960 Noeske et a1. 117/47 H 3,316,117 4/1967 Clifi'ord et a1 1 17/44 3,365,329 1/1968 MacKenzie et al. l17/138.8 N

Primary ExaminerAlfred L. Leavitt Assistant ExaminerM. F. Esposito AllorneysNorman C. Armitage and H. William Petry ABSTRACT: The cut edge of a fabric is preheated to a temperature which will cause an increase in viscosity of a subsequently applied heat-solidifiable composition and reduce its migration into the fabric. The composition is applied to the preheated edge and further heated to solidification.

Pmminm 4m 36321383 INVENTORS JOSEPH W. DOMINICK WILLIAM P. WARTHEN BY ATTORNEY METHOD OF COATING THE CUT EDGE OF A FABRIC In the production of trousers and skirts a narrow width stiffening fabric is sewn in the waist to prevent curling when the garment is worn by the consumer. This fabric is normally woven in wide widths and slit in the warp direction to provide the necessary narrow width. To perform the desired function intended the fabric should be flexible in the warp direction which goes around the waist of the user and fairly stiff in the fill direction. Many types of yarn can provide the desired characteristics but it is preferred to use a cotton warp and a nylon fill. The main disadvantage encountered is that when the wide width fabric is slit in the warp direction the fill yarn is severed exposing jagged or rough ends at the point of out. These rough ends cause discomfort to the customer wearing the garment in which the narrow width fabric is sewn.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a narrow stiffening fabric for waist bands which does not irritate the user.

A second object of the invention is to provide a stiffening fabric for waist bands which has been treated to smooth the ends of the stiff fill yarn.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fabric for stiffening waist bands which has the ends of the fill yarn coated to prevent irritation to the user.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be clearly apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a blown-up view of fabric before treatment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the system to treat the stiffening fabric; and

FIG. 3 is a blown-up view of the fabric after treatment.

As discussed above stiffening fabric for waist bands is woven in wide widths and slit in the warp direction. Due to the intended use the warp yarn should be of a flexible type while the fill yarn should be relatively stiff to perform the intended function. The slit fabric is taken up on rolls 12 for supply to the garment manufacturer.

Looking at FIG. 1 the stifiening fabric is shown in detail. Preferably the warp 14 is a cotton yarn and the fill yarn 16 is nylon to provide stiffness. It can readily be seen that the ends 18 of the fill yarn are very rough and jagged. This is caused by the knife on the slitter when the wide width fabric is slit into narrower widths.

Looking now to FIG. 2 the narrow width fabric 10 of FIG. 1 is shown in a roll 18 to be treated to smooth the rough ends 19 of the stiff fill yarn. The fabric 10 is delivered to a preheating oven 20 to preheat the edges of the fabric prior to treatment by the coaters 22. It is only necessary to preheat the edges of the fabric but if desired, the whole fabric can be preheated. It is necessary to preheat the edges of the narrow fabric so that the polymer applied will start to gel upon application and not migrate into the fabric. From the pre-heater 20 the fabric 10 is passed through the coaters 22 which apply a suitable chemical, such as a plastisol, to both edges of the fabric by the use of suitable rolls 24 and 26 which rotate in the chemical baths 28. Depending on the polymer used and/or the amount of residual heat in the fabric, the fabric 10 is then passed through a second heater 30 to cure the chemical applied as a coating to the edges of the fabric. The use of the second heater is optional and its use depends on the speed of operation, the residual heat in the fabric and the polymer coating applied. After curing, the fabric is taken up on roll 12, driven by surface drive roll 32, for shipment to the garment manufacturer.

Looking now to FIG. 3 the fabric 10 is shown after treatment in the coater 22. It should be noted that the edges of the fill yarn 16 have applied thereon a smooth continuous coating 34 which does not have the rough characteristics of the fill yarn shown in FIG. 1.

There are a number of polymers, preferably organic, which can be employed to perform this job. The selection of the particular polymer to be used depends on the particular properties of the polymer and the fabric to be coated. The selected polymer should have the basic properties of (1) film forming;

(2) pennanency to normal fabric abuses such as wearing, washing, dry cleaning and the like and (3) a degree of adhesion to the fabric being applied to. These polymers can be in powder form as well as liquid.

Generally speaking, the following types of polymers which are heat-solidifiable can be employed to coat the edges of the narrow width fabric 10.

l. Plastisols 2. Organosols 3. Water emulsions such as:

A. Polyvinyl chloride latices and copolymers B. Polyvinyl acetate latices and copolymers C. Acrylonitrile/Butadiene latices D. Styrene/Butadiene latices E. Acrylic latices 4. Organic solvent emulsions such as polyurethanes in organic solvents 5. Water solutions such as:

A. Polyurethanes B. Carboxylated copolymers of acrylics C. Thermosetting resins D. Polyvinyl alcohol 6. Organic solvent solutions Polyethylene copolymers Polyacrylates Polyacetates Polyvinyl chlorides Polyurethanes 7. Polymeric syrups, e.g., polyesters, epoxy resins and the like.

Preferably, a polyvinyl chloride plastisol is used to provide the smooth continuous coating 34 shown in FIG. 3. The specific preferred plastisol is a polyvinyl chloride which is a polyvinyl chloride resin dispersed in a liquid plasticizer to give a liquid system which has percent solids present. When heat, in the range of l50-200 F., is applied, the plasticizer migrates into the polyvinyl resin to give a gel state. Then to complete cure (fusion) of the plastisol so as to obtain a tough plastic film, temperatures of 325375 F. are used.

The amount of gel of the applied film forming chemical in the coater 22 basically depends on the characteristics of the particular chemical, the speed of the fabric and the temperature. It is possible to control the amount of gel by control of the speed and/or the temperature of the fabric. Under some conditions there will be very little gel and the coating will be cured almost simultaneously upon application. In other instances it may be desirable to cause the coating to gel and then to take up the fabric on a takeup roll and then put the fabric in an oven remote from the apparatus to cure the coated edge.

The herein disclosed method provides a woven fabric for use in waist bands which is very flexible in the warp direction and provides rigidity in the fill direction and does not chaff or irritate the wearer of a garment in which the fabric is sewn.

Although we have described in detail the preferred embodiment of our invention, it is contemplated that many changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of our invention and we desire to be limited only by the claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A method for reducing the roughness of a cut edge on a fabric by application of a heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition comprising the steps of a. supplying a fabric having a cut edge,

b. preheating the cut edge of the fabric to a sufficient temperature to cause an increase in viscosity in a subsequently applied heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition to reduce its migration into the inner portions of the fabric,

c. coating the heated edge of the fabric with a heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition, and

d. heating the coated edge of the fabric to solidify the filmforming composition thereon.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said out edge is preheated to a temperature sufficient to initiate gelatin of the film-forming composition on the edge during the coating step.

A B C. D E

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the film-forming composition is a polyvinyl chloride plastisol composition and wherein the cut edge is preheated to a temperature of at least 150 F 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said film forming composition is a plastisol.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said plastisol is polyvinyl chloride.

6. A method for reducing the roughness of the cut end of a fill yarn of a woven fabric having a cotton warp and a nylon fill by the application of a liquid heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition comprising the steps of a. supplying a woven fabric having a cut nylon till edge,

b. preheating the cut edge of the fabric to a temperature sufficient to cause an increase in the viscosity of a subsequently applied heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition to reduce its tendency to migrate into the inner portions of the fabric,

0. coating the heated edge of the fabric with a heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition, and

d. heating the coated edge of the fabric to solidify the composition thereon.

7. A method as defined in claim 6 wherein said fabric has a second cut nylon fill edge, and said second edge is preheated, coated with a heat-solidifiable film-forming composition, and the coated edge heated to solidify the composition thereon.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said out edges are preheated to a temperature of at least F i 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said film forming composition is a plastisol.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said plastisol is a polyvinyl chloride.

I I l l 

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said cut edge is preheated to a temperature sufficient to initiate gelatin of the film-forming composition on the edge during the coating step.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the film-forming composition is a polyvinyl chloride plastisol composition and wherein the cut edge is preheated to a temperature of at least 150* F.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein said film forming composition is a plastisol.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein said plastisol is polyvinyl chloride.
 6. A method for reducing the roughness of the cut end of a fill yarn of a woven fabric having a cotton warp and a nylon fill by the application of a liquid heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition comprising the steps of a. supplying a woven fabric having a cut nylon fill edge, b. preheating the cut edge of the fabric to a temperature sufficient to cause an increase in the viscosity of a subsequently applied heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition to reduce its tendency to migrate into the inner portions of the fabric, c. coating the heated edge of the fabric with a heat-solidifiable, film-forming composition, and d. heating the coated edge of the fabric to solidify the composition thereon.
 7. A method as defined in claim 6 wherein said fabric has a second cut nylon fill edge, and said second edge is preheated, coated with a heat-solidifiable film-forming composition, and the coated edge heated to solidify the composition thereon.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein said cut edges are preheated to a temperature of at least 150* F.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said film forming composition is a plastisol.
 10. The method of claim 9 wherein said plastisol is a polyvinyl chloride. 